Summer Journal: Week 9

A tribute to some of the nice things you can find in Spokane.

Had a meeting at Indaba and picked up this fancy bag of beans from Manners Roasting while there. I've been French-pressing it all week. Yum.

On Thursday, I headed over to the South Perry Market with my friend, Monique, before we got delicious cocktails at Casper Fry (I recommend the Bijou). I bought some lavender castile soap from the sweet people at Rocky River Soap Company.

 And, of course, the famous Elasticat of Spokane. My Margot. She does this a lot.

 I love the flowers that bloom in the late summer.

And it wouldn't be a late summer day in Spokane without a little smoke in your eyes. This view is just a couple blocks from the house. The green patch is Polly Judd Park, the best place for an after-dinner Frisbee rally.

Too hot for hoops?

 Back to those late-summer flowers...dahlias are perhaps my favorite. These beauties are from the Saturday market.

This was one of those moments when I could almost picture what my neighborhood must have looked like a handful of decades ago.

The Maple Street Bistro is no longer my little secret. This place is rightly crowded every time I go. It's one of those places that gets a lot of things right when it comes to baked goods. They're often old-fashioned, not overwhelmingly sweet, and there's almost always something small you can treat yourself to. And then there's the Rice Krispies Treat Cookie, which is very sweet, very crispy, and dangerously sized. Eating it is for your own good, as is saving half of it for someone special.

Someone's garden is covered in succulents on my way home from the bus. These plants are a real wonder to me.

 Another scene from the Maple Street Bistro; a working lunch getaway on a Friday afternoon. BLT and tomato gorgonzola soup.

I can't tell you how many vehicles I've seen in the past two weeks with this sentiment emblazoned on the back window.